San Bernardino Massacre: How the Key Figures Converged

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A makeshift memorial for those killed in the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif.CreditCreditJoe Raedle/Getty Images North America

By The New York Times

Dec. 18, 2015

Investigators have released a new and detailed account of the relationship between Enrique Marquez and Syed Rishwan Farook, the county health inspector in San Bernardino, Calif., who, together with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people and wounded 22 others in a terrorist attack on Dec. 2.

Mr. Marquez and Mr. Farook, former next-door neighbors, had a once-close friendship that began a decade ago; they gradually began to study radical Islamic teachings and plan attacks in 2011 and 2012, investigators say.

Although Mr. Marquez was not said to have participated in the attacks in San Bernardino, the authorities said he confessed to buying guns and other weaponry used in the shootings. In 2013, Mr. Marquez and Mr. Farook parted ways, and Mr. Farook sought and found a devout Muslim wife, Ms. Malik, who moved from Pakistan to Southern California and had a daughter with him.

Below is a summary of what we know about Mr. Farook, Ms. Malik and Mr. Marquez.

2004-05: Marquez and Farook Build Relationship

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Enrique Marquez in an undated social media photo.

Around 2004, Mr. Marquez moved from El Monte, Calif., to Riverside, next door to Mr. Farook. “Shortly after Marquez moved to Riverside,” the federal complaint against Mr. Marquez says, “he met Farook in the garage of Farook’s residence. After their initial meeting, Farook introduced Marquez to Islam. In or around late 2005, Marquez visited a mosque in Corona, Calif.”

During this period, the two discussed Tablighi Jamaat, a global movement that proselytizes for Islam and has sometimes been accused of spreading fundamentalist and militant views. Mr. Marquez began to pray at Mr. Farook’s residence.

2007: Marquez Converts to Islam

After his conversion, Mr. Farook introduced Mr. Marquez to radical Islamic ideology. According to the complaint, this “included expressing disdain towards Muslims in the U.S. military that killed other Muslims and discussing the extremist views” of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born Islamic lecturer who was killed by an American drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

2010: Farook Graduates From Cal State San Bernardino

Mr. Farook earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering. He went on to work for the San Bernardino County health department, checking food surfaces at restaurants and bakeries — including some in school cafeterias — and chlorine levels in public swimming pools.

2011: Marquez and Farook Plan Attacks in Riverside

Around this time, Mr. Farook and Mr. Marquez, “began planning to commit terrorist acts in the Southern California area. Marquez and Farook discussed using firearms and explosives to attack Riverside Community College (‘RCC’) and State Route 91 (‘SR-91’).”

The complaint said Mr. Marquez and Mr. Farook chose the freeway location because it lacked exits, ensuring that people would be trapped and killed. The two hatched a scheme in which Mr. Marquez would throw pipe bombs and Mr. Farook would use his rifle to kill people, the authorities said.

Mr. Marquez also told investigators that he and Mr. Farook read Inspire magazine, an Al Qaeda publication, that gave detailed bomb-making instructions.

2011-12: Marquez Buys Firearms and Explosives

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Weapons the authorities said were used by Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik in the attack.CreditSan Bernardino County Sheriffs Department

In late 2011 and early 2012 Mr. Marquez bought firearms on two occasions from local sporting goods stores, the complaint says.

Sometime around 2012, Marquez also bought “explosive materials — specifically, a bottle of smokeless powder — for the purpose of making explosives with Farook for a future attack.” Later, Mr. Farook and Mr. Marquez went to shooting ranges in Riverside and Los Angeles, the complaint adds.

The two appear to have been scared off from carrying out their plans in 2012, the authorities said, by arrests in a separate investigation in Riverside County in which four men were accused of jidahist plots.

2012: A Couple’s Religious Activity and Education

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Worshipers outside the Islamic Center of Riverside.CreditMonica Almeida/The New York Times

Syed Farook began attending services twice a day at the Islamic Center of Riverside, Calif. In a mosque where attendance on Fridays regularly tops 1,000, Mr. Farook stood out as one of the most devout members, wearing long robes.

From 2007 to at least 2012, Ms. Malik studied in Multan, the main city in southern Punjab. Teachers described Ms. Malik as a polite and driven student who was visibly devout, always wearing the niqab face covering and avoiding contact with male students.

2013: Farook and Marquez Drift Apart

According to the complaint, Mr. Marquez told investigators that he and Mr. Farook began to have less contact and stopped planning attacks together.

October 2013: Farook Completes the Hajj

Authorities believe that Mr. Farook went to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual pilgrimage known as the hajj.

On Mr. Farook’s 2014 visa application, he wrote the following:”My fiancé and I met through an online website. After several seeks of emailing, we decided to meet each other. My parents reside in Riyad, Saudi Arabi and she was visting them during the month of October. During this same month, my parents and I decided to perform the Hajj pilgramage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.”

Mr. Farook adds that he and Ms. Malik were engaged in Mecca that month.

November 29, 2014: Marquez’s ‘Sham’ Marriage

Mr. Marquez married Mariya Chernykh, a Russian woman whose sister is married to Syed Raheel Farook, the assailant’s brother. In return for a wedding that was meant to confer legal immigration status, Mr. Marquez was paid $200 a month, the complaint says.

Mr. Marquez told investigators that Syed Raheel Farook, whose wife is named Tatiana, told him that Ms. Chernykh needed to get married in order to stay in the country. The complaint states that she entered the United States on a J-1 visitor exchange visa in 2009, which expired later that year.

In December 2015, Mr. Marquez was charged with defrauding the immigration system by entering into a sham marriage.

July 27, 2014: Farook Returns to the U.S.

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Ms. Malik and Mr. Farook as they passed through O'Hare International Airport in Chicago in July 2014.CreditU.S. Customs and Border Protection

Mr. Farook traveled to Saudi Arabia and returned to the United States with Ms. Malik.

She entered on a Pakistani passport and a K-1 visa, a special 90-day visa for fiancés. They had been married by telephone before she arrived, but had a wedding reception afterward.

Previously, Mr. Farook had posted profiles on three Internet dating sites, including one aimed at Indian singles and another at people in the United Arab Emirates. He described his family as “religious but modern.” He said he did not smoke or drink and wrote that he enjoyed “doing target practice with younger sister and friends.”

May 21, 2015: Daughter Is Born

The couple’s daughter was born in Riverside.

July 2015: Malik’s Green Card

Ms. Malik was granted a conditional green card after passing criminal and national security background checks.

Nov. 5, 2015: ‘Terrorist plots, drugs, antisocial behavior’

The complaint against Mr. Marquez describes a Facebook exchange between him and an unidentified Facebook user. It was unclear if this was a private message or a public post.

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Dec. 2, 2015: San Bernardino Attacks

Around 9 a.m., Mr. Farook entered the Inland Regional Center to attend a daylong meeting for San Bernardino health department workers. He placed a black bag later found to have an explosive device on a table. He slipped out of the meeting at some point.

About 11 a.m., Mr. Farook returned with Ms. Malik, both dressed in black. The couple fired 65 to 75 rounds of ammunition; 14 people were killed and 22 injured.

Mr. Farook and Ms. Malik left the scene. Their exact whereabouts for the next four hours is being investigated — apparently they spent some time smashing their electronic equipment to throw the authorities off their trail — but by late afternoon their rented car was spotted failing to yield on a roadway; they were killed in a shootout with the police 3.5 miles from the shooting scene.

Dec. 3, 2015: Marquez’s 911 Call

The day after the attack, Mr. Marquez dialed 911, the complaint says. Below is a screenshot of an exchange between Mr. Marquez and a dispatcher:

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Dec. 17, 2015: Marquez Arrested

Mr. Marquez was charged with crimes including conspiring to support terrorists. Additionally, he faces a count of lying on gun purchase forms to conceal that he was buying the firearms for Mr. Farook, and one count of defrauding the immigration system in relation to the marriage. The conspiracy charge against Mr. Marquez carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and the firearms and visa charges, 10 years each.